This post appears in the Editors Ask: Cinco de Mayo challenge.

I don’t know about you, but in the beginning I was pretty lost in the Mexican chili world. Too many varieties, no explanations, I had to find out by myself.

Questions came into my mind: hey, they are dried, how should I use them? Pulverize? Soak? How long? In cold or in warm water? How strong are they, should I put only small pieces? But then, why are the bags so big? And what’s the difference between a chipotle and a guajillo? Will they both set my throat on fire?

Practicing, little by little, I started to find my way. So let me help you out, too.

Let’s start with a lovely adobo. The term refers to both a marinade and a sauce consisting of marinated chilies. Here, of course, we mean the chili version. You can use it to flavor your stew or other sautéed food. I’m using it for my shrimp tacos, to add a kick and depth.

I’m using guajillo chilies here for their earthy undertones. In fact, there’s not much fieriness to them. You can easily put two entire chilies in a sauce without having to call an ambulance.

Rule n°1: Grill your chilies in a pan for their flavor to intensify, like you would do with regular spices. You can decide any stage between medium grilled and blackened.

Rule n°2: Deseed and roughly chop the flesh (except if used for stuffing).

Rule n°3: Soak the chilies, preferably in cold water, for about an hour.

Then they’re ready to use.

For my adobo I follow this method with 3 guajillos chiles.
Then I blend and blitzed the soaked flesh with 5 cloves of (peeled) garlic, add 1tsp salt, the juice of half a lemon and 6 tbsp olive oil with as result a smooth paste.

This is the base of your sauce, easy peasy. You can decide to keep it like this or to customize it to suit your taste with chopped herbs, cumin powder or maybe lime juice, it’s all up to you.

Now it’s time to get your shrimps roasted for a Mexican-tequila-drinking-tortilla-devouring-night-with-your-lover:

Fry 15 peeled shrimps in a pan with in a little oil. When they get pinkish and smell wonderfully barbecued, add 4 tbsp of the adobo. Fry for 3 minutes more and that’s it.

Serve with some grilled soft corn tortillas and garnish with one or more of those toppings:
- Chopped coriander
- Mashed avocado with a splash of lime juice
- Sour cream
- Grated cheddar
- Yoghurt
- Diced paprika

Read the original on: Food and Fashion